Harry Potter and the Next Generation
by Bleeding-Ravenclaw
Summary: This is what happened when Harry's son Albus went to Hogwarts, and was sorted into Slytherin. BTW- Tomoka means "Brilliant friend" and its origin is Japanese, just in case you were wondering. Albus will find out soon enough. Please visit my page and vot
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Professor McGonagall led the students to the front of the Great Hall for the umpteenth time. She was getting too old for this. Next year it would become the young, but very accomplished Professor Longbottom's job to lead the students down the aisle and call names from the scroll for the Sorting Ceremony. McGonagall would have given it up this year, but the children of some past students she cared very much for would begin their time at Hogwarts this year.

She stood atop the stage, standing next to a stool with the Sorting Hat sitting on it, and she opened the scroll to read the names. She vaguely recognized some names, but her lips thinned when she got to the "M"s.

"Malfoy, Scorpius!" she called.

A pale blond boy stepped onto the stage. "_My God,"_ thought Minerva. "_He's the spitting image of his father!"_ She set the Sorting Hat on the boy's head. It took the hat a moment or two to ponder which house the boy should be put in. Scorpius's face was crumpled in concentration.

Scorpius couldn't care less what house he was put in, but he knew his father did. As Scorpius was sitting on the stool in front of the whole school, the hat talked to him. When the hat spoke to Scorpius, it was like the hat was the Time Lord Kronos, slowing down all time.

_ "You should not worry about what your father thinks,"_ the hat spoke. _" If he becomes angry because you are not in Slytherin like him, then maybe he does not love you for who you really are."_

_ "Does that mean-?"_ Scorpius's thought was interrupted by the hat's answer.

_"No, your father does love you, no questioning that,"_ the hat consoled him. _"He also has no reason to be angry. But be wise, child. You and another shall bring along great change in your house. He is a person who is not so lucky as yourself in being accepted in the house you both shall reside in. This house is SLYTHERIN!"_

Minerva removed the hat from Scorpius's head and her jumped off the stage to join to politely cheering Slytherins at their table.

Professor McGonagall continued reading names to sort the students. Then, finally, she came across a name that made her smile. Just last year she had called up his older brother to have him sorted into Gryffindor. She hoped to have the same happen to his younger brother. It made McGonagall sad to think that she wouldn't be able to call his sister's name, the last of the three. She knew she wouldn't be able to stand up there for the whole ceremony in two years considering her current physical condition. It was so unlikely that she would be able to outlive the number of years Professor Dumbledore had been able to endure the task.

"Potter, Albus!" she called, proudly showing her smile.

In the audience James Potter, Albus's older brother, sat with a wide smile on his face, his heart beating with anticipation. He pictured his little brother sitting with him at the feast in a few minutes, and he couldn't help but feel prematurely proud of his brother.

Albus stepped up onto the stage and sat on the stool. Professor McGonagall set the Sorting Hat down on his head. Time became liquid and seemed to be as thick as tree sap.

_"I've been waiting for you."_ The Sorting Hat told Albus. _"Don't be frightened. You are to be in the same house as that Malfoy son."_ Albus's eyes bugged out. What would his brother say? His father? Mother? The rest of his family? His father said it didn't matter, but he didn't know how anyone else would react.

_"The two of you will bring about a great change not only in that House, but in all of Hogwarts,"_ the hat continued. _"There is nothing to fear, boy. You should not be scared of destiny because you will be great in SLYTHERIN!"_

The room was silent. James's mouth hung agape in an "O" shape. Professor McGonagall nearly had a stroke where she stood. Professor Longbottom almost exlcaimed a loud "No!" and demanded a re-sort, but he held his tongue. The first person in the room to recover was Scorpius Malfoy, who knew that Albus was going to be his partner in changing the House of Slytherin. He broke the silence by being the first to clap politely. Albus stepped off the stage and sat down at the Slytherin table next to Scorpius, he father's childhood enemy's descendant.

It took a while for the rest of the school to recover from the shock of Albus's sorting. In which time Luna Lovegood's sons, Lorcan and Lysander Scamander, who were both sorted into Hufflepuff, the House of Spares, for who knows what reason. The room had finally recovered from the shock of Albus's soriting—which seemed to take quite a long time—when McGonagall got to the last name-another name she crossed her fingers would be sorted into Gryffindor.

"Weasley, Rose!" she called.

The little, curly-haired ginger stepped onto the stage and sat down on the stool. Minerva put the hat down on the girl's head.

_"Don't lose faith in your cousin Albus,"_ the had advised. _"You will play an important part in his destiny."_ Then the hat yelled out with all his might, _"RAVENCLAW!"_ I can has wit. Well, at least Rose knew that her parents had had a clue that this would probably be her house. They'd accept her the way she was, as they always had.

McGonagall pressed her lips together in bitter disappointment. As Rose walked down the stairs to her table and McGonagall rolled up the scroll, she thought to herself, _"This is going to be one sad year for Gryffindor."_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The feast began, and almost immediately the room became alive with sound. Voices all around were making conversation. It was a very pleasant sight, especially after that sad Sorting Ceremony.

Albus scooped some mashed potatoes onto his plate. Then he picked up a drumstick and began chewing it. Once he was done picking off and eating the meat, he stabbed sadly at his mashed potatoes. He hated mashed potatoes. He couldn't even remember why he'd put them on his plate. Stupid mashed potatoes. Stupid Sorting Hat. Stupid school. Why hadn't his parents sent him someplace other than Hogwarts? They don't even have Houses at Durmstrang or Beauxbatons.

"Why don't you get something else on your plate to actually eat if you're just going to keep stabbing thoes potatoes to oblivion?" the girl on Albus's right spoke to him.

Albus's head whipped around to face her. She had nearly black bone-straight hair and deep-sea blue eyes.

"Um, but I'm not hungry," Albus said.

"Yes you are," she said, "and if you're not now, you will be later. Trust me." Albus was reminded of his mother, this was something she would say. His mother cared about him so much. She loved all of her children dearly. Maybe she wouldn't be too upset at the Sorting Hat's decision...

But she was still strong-headed, and a proud, passionate Gryffindor.

"Fine," Albus said. He took another piece of chicken and began gnawing at it.

"Don't worry, Albus. House racism may not have changed much since your father's time, but there is no reason to feel uncomfortable in your own house. Remember: it's not just your house, it's your home too. I'm Tomoka, by the way," the girl said, sticking out her hand. "I'm in seventh-I mean I'm in my second year." Albus then realized there was something funny in the girl's accent, but he didn't say anything about that because there was something he already had in mind to say.

"It must suck being named Tomoka," Albus said. He didn't mean to say that aloud, but all his pessimistic thoughts in his head just let it slip out his mouth.

"It must suck being named after a gay, dead Headmaster of Hogwarts," Tomoka shot back.

"Tuchee." Albus said. "I'm actually named after two dead men: Dumbledore and Severus Snape. But why did your parents name you Tomoka?"

"Because of it's meaning," she answered.

"What does it mean?" Albus asked.

"If you want to know so badly, just look it up." Tomoka said mysteriously.

"What do you do for a nickname?" Al asked curiously.

"Usually people just call me Tomoka, but some call me Momo and others call me Tomi," she answered, staring at the unappetizing shepherd's pie on her plate. "You know, I think they need to serve hamburgers and meat balls instead of this kidney pie crap." Tomoka spoke her opinion passionately. "I mean, seriously, give us some real food!"

"My dad is always telling me how good the food at Hogwarts is," Albus said in the school's defense.

"Oh, come on!" Tomoka said exasperatedly, rolling her eyes dramatically. "What does Harry Potter know about good food? I've eaten camp food that's better than this!"

"I got it!" Albus said, pointing at Tomoka's confused face. "You're American!" He'd known it ever since she'd said "Potter" like "Podder", fully pronouncing the "r".

"Yeah," Tomoka said, not understanding why it was such a big deal. "Took you long enough."

"You make it so obvious," a boy sitting across from Caroline said. He had shaggy black hair and green eyes. "You don't even _try_ to hide it."

As Tomoka retaliated with her "It's not like I can help it!" argument, over at the Gryffindor table, James Potter was writing feverishly. He was writing a letter to his father about the horrible event that had just taken place.

"What are you doing, James?" a curious cousin, Louis, inquired from across the table.

"I'm writing a letter to my dad," he said.

"Oh," Victoire said, her face falling. "I'm so sorry, James. This came as a shock to all of us."

James didn't respond, trying to hold in tears that were begging to fall from frustration, anger, disappointment, and depression. He finished his letter and signed his name just as Victoire got up, brandishing her prefect's badge, to lead the first years-whom his brother should have been among-to their dormitories. James got up to go give his letter to Professor Longbottom to mail to his parents for him.

"Hello, James," Professor Longbottom had met him at the steps to get onto the stage and up to the teacher's table.

"Hello, professor," James said grimly, looking down at his shoes. "My parents told me to give you their love, but I don't know how to do that." Neville chuckled, but James continued on. "Would you mind mailing this to my father for me?" James handed Neville Longbottom the folded letter James had just written. He still refused to loop up, not wanting Professor Longbottom to see his face.

"Yes, of course," Neville said, taking the letter. "I'm sorry about your brother. Though, he's still your brother, the same person he was on the train ride with you. He hasn't changed in the few minutes you've been without him. Just because he's in Slytherin doesn't make him immediately evil."

James looked up at Professor Longbottom now, a flicker of hope on his face. "Thank you professor!" James ran of to see if he could catch up with his brother and talk to him.

Neville walked out of the Great Hall and to the Owelry, leaving his robes behind on his chair. All he wore were some nice black trousers, a white button-down shirt, a tie, and shiny leather shoes. Good thing it wasn't cold yet. September was a good month, one of Neville's favorites because now it was the time of the harvest. He had also always loved the Sorting and the feast. He was determined to not let this year change that.

James's letter in Neville's hand as he went to the Owelry made him think about the Sorting Ceremony this year. Luna's sons, Lorcan and Lysander had been there. From time to time Neville did think about what would it have been like if he had ever dated Luna. She'd fascinated him when they were in school. Though whenever he'd compared himself with her, he'd always seemed like such a square. Hopefully Luna had found someone as imaginative as herself with whom she could share her creativity and belief in impossible creatures.

Neville reached the Owelry and tied James's letter to the boy's owl's foot. He watched the owl fly away, wishing all his worries could as well.

In his dormitory in Slytherin, Albus sat up in bed. He was the only one still awake so far as he could tell. The poor boy hugged his knees and tears began to fall from his eyes. He felt so lost, so confused. He didn't understand! Why was he put in this house where he felt he didn't belong?

In the lower bunk on Albus's bed, lay Scorpius, lying down but still awake. He wished he could go onto the top bunk to find some way to comfort Albus.

"You're not alone," Scorpius whispered. "I understand."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

There was a pecking coming from the window when Harry sat at the kitchen table, reading the rest of that day's Daily Prophet as the dishes washed themselves and the laundry folded itself. He didn't look up, he was aiming to finish the article he was reading before he had to open the window. Maybe by that time, Ginny would have gotten up and opened it instead. Then, the pecking came again.

"Harry, can you get that?" Ginny called from the family room. She was watching the tele. Nowadays every household had one, be it a Muggle or a wizard home. The whole world was just becoming so hi-tech that the Wizarding World _had_ to keep up, or the Muggles would suspect them.

Reluctantly, Harry set down the paper, it wasn't really an interesting article anyway, and went to the window to let in the owl. To his surprise, when he opened the window two owls flew in, the family owl, Nymphadora, and the Hogwarts owl, Hermes. Attached to Hermes's leg was a piece of rolled up parchment, like this letter had been written in a hurry. Harry didn't call to Ginny. He just thought this was odd. Something big must have happened, and Harry was filled with apprehension as he unraveled the scroll— was it bad news or good news? What had happened at the Sorting Ceremony that evening? Had Albus actually been sorted into Slytherin?

_Dear Dad,_

_ I know you'll eventually tell Mum about this, and that's okay, but I want you to read this first. Albus was sorted into Slytherin. I don't know what to do. It's horrible! What if he becomes, you know, bad? Why hadn't he been sorted into Gryffindor? What did he ever do to deserve this? Can you please send a letter to Professor McGonagall and ask her to have Albus resorted? Please, anything! He doesn't deserve to stay there!_

_Love,_

_James_

_P.S.- That Malfoy boy was also sorted into Slytherin. Please help!_

Why had he ever told his children about his childhood rivalry with Draco Malfoy? He wasn't so bad in the end. But Draco had been misguided. As had Severus Snape, whom Albus was also named after... But Harry trusted the Sorting Hat, so he didn't know what to think. Not all Slytherins were bad, right?

Harry sighed and ruffled through his hair. "G-Ginny?" his voice cracked.

"Yeah?" Ginny called from the other room, not really wanting to go to the kitchen— her television program was just getting really gripping.

"Ginny, can you come in here? This is kind of important," Harry called.

Ginny unenthusiastically paused her television program and came into the kitchen. She wore a purple tank top and some sweatpants, but she still looked beautiful to Harry, she always did. Harry pushed his new semi-rectangular glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"What's the matter, Harry?" she asked.

"Well, I just got a letter from James," Harry said.

"Really?" she said. "Last year he didn't even write until a whole week had gone by and we sent him a letter."

"Yeah," Harry said quickly, "probably because this year is much different than last year." He put the letter down on the table and ran his hands through his hair. He sighed. "Ginny, Albus was sorted into Slytherin." Harry's eyes were closed, scared of what Ginny's reaction might be. But Ginny stood there. She didn't want to comprehend. Her head was spinning. What had he just said? Albus was WHAT? HOW?

Owls rained down from the sky, as was typical for the first full day of school. Parents wanted to know if their children had gotten to school safely, how the sorting went, that sort of thing. Scorpius, Tomoka, Lorcan and Lysander, and every Weasley received a letter. And so did Albus.

"Oh, don't be afraid to open it!" Tomoka said. "Ugh, come on, here we'll read mine first."

"Do you have to share it with me? Can't you share it with your friends?" Albus asked. He didn't understand why Tomoka kept hanging around him. She was a year older and nice and actually kind of pretty. Albus was a dork. He didn't have many friends outside of his family.

"Most of my friends are in Ravenclaw anyway, and I only have two friends in Slytherin— one of them is coming late because she's at her dead grandfather's funeral. Her grandfather is dead. She has a dead grandfather." Tomoka said.

"Yeah I get it, okay?" Albus said before she could continue.

"And my best guy friend here in Slytherin is probably busy making out with his new girlfriend." Tomoka guessed. "I haven't really gone looking for him. He can come to me first."

"Oh, sorry," Al said, sensing some fight had happened.

"No, it's okay, it's pretty typical." Tomoka said. "And my only family member in Slytherin, Arcturus, is a pretty big downer."

"Gee, thanks," the boy with shaggy dark hair and green eyes from the previous night sat across from them at the table again. Tomoka stuck her tongue out at him.

"Bet _you_ didn't get a letter this morning, huh?" Tomoka pushed his buttons.

"Actually I did," Arcturus said. "And I'm planning to write back with my pretty-girl perfect handwriting in pencil on _computer paper_." Albus could just hear the nails on the blackboard of Tomoka's brain, though he hardly knew her.

"Why must you always punish your mother so?" Tomoka felt pain for her cousin. "She's like my favorite cousin. Why do you always do this to her?"

"Because, there's nothing wrong with it." Arcturus said.

"Maybe in _your_ opinion their isn't." Tomoka stuck her nose up.

"So you're saying I have a shitty opinion?" Arcturus pressed.

"Well, if— well yes! In this case you _do_!" Tomoka said.

"Okay, then. Ravenclaw is the best House, Slytherin is the most amazing House, Moaning Myrtle is the coolest ghost we'll all ever meet, and..." Arcturus couldn't think of another thing to say, so Tomoka easily stepped in.

"Severus Snape is the kindest, bravest, gentlest, sexiest man I have ever met." Tomoka chipped in. Arcturus didn't even pay attention to what she said, and promptly repeated it smugly without thinking.

"Severus Snape is the kindest, bravest, gentlest, sexiest man I have ever met." Arcturus said. "HEY!"

"Haha! Gotcha!" Tomoka said satisfyingly. "Plus, that was a totally different case."

"Okay! Okay!" Albus said before they could start another round. "Just read me your damn letter already!"

"With pleasure," Tomoka said, fluffing her feathers, and opening her envelope.

_"Dear Tomoka,_

_ How are you? Are any of the new students anyone we know? Who are you sharing your bunk bed with this year? Hopefully not anyone you're going to have issues with like last year. How is Stefanie? Is she at school yet? Tell her we're sorry for her loss._

_ We're completely moved in now. Could you ask Professor McGonagall if you could still attend Hogwarts even though we live so far away now? We would rather send you to a magic school where you can communicate with everyone much easier than if we sent you to the Japanese magic school._

_ Nothing has happened since you left. Do you want to come and see our new house during winter break, or do you want to go to see Grandma and Grandpa like we usually do?_

_ We miss you much!_

_Love,_

_Mom and Dad"_

"Okay," Tomoka said. "Read yours now."

"I've just got one question," Albus said, "did you just recently move here?"

"No, I actually lived here for, like, two years, but now we moved to New Zealand," Tomi answered. "My parents have always wanted to live here and in New Zealand. It's my mom's dream to own a bookstore and bakery in New Zealand and live on the beach."

"Oh, okay," Albus said. He then opened his envelope acting like it was nothing, but on the inside he was going crazy with fear and anxiety. Did his parents know? If they didn't, how would he tell them? He really did not want to read the letter, but it was now or never.

_"Dear Albus,_

_ What happened? How are you? Are you okay? Why did the Sorting Hat put you in Slytherin? Are you okay there? Do you want to be moved out of that House? Has Malfoy given you any trouble? If you need anything just tell us or Professor Longbottom. We love you. You know that, right? Don't forget it. We could never stop loving you, and your house doesn't impact that. If you don't want to be there we can ask Professor McGonnagal to get you re-sorted, but wherever the Hat puts you then, that's where you are to stay. Do you have any friends in Slytherin? Are they nice? Don't hang out with the wrong type of Slytheirn. Please write back soon. And talk to James and the rest of our family at Gryffindor. James is really worried about you, and we're sure the rest of the family is too. We want to make sure you are happy wherever you are._

_Please write soon._

_We love you,_

_Mum and Dad"_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Albus got up from the table to go back to the common room and grab his things for potions and charms, his first two classes.

"Potter! Wait up!" a voice called behind him. Albus didn't want to, but he stopped and turned around. The person who had called him was a boy about Albus's height with white blond hair and grey-blue eyes.

"Can I come with you?" Scorpius asked.

"Well, it's better than being alone and annoyed." Albus said.

"What happened?" Scorpius asked.

"Well, first I was sorted into Slytherin," Albus said, "and I would be totally cool with it if everyone else accepted it, but they won't. Today I got a letter from my parents saying they would get me re-sorted if I wanted to be, which is basically the same as them telling me they don't want me to be in Slytherin. They also said that James was worried about me, which means that _he_ told them."

"Aw, you must be pissed," Scorpius said, as the boys entered their dorm.

"Well, I'm pretty angry at the least." Albus said, gathering his things. "What about you? I'm sure your parents are thrilled about you being put in Slytherin."

"Actually, I haven't heard from either of my parents yet," Scorpius said. "I should probably write to tell them."

"They'll probably be really happy." Albus said, hiding his bitterness, though it was rather obvious.

"Or maybe just relieved," Scorpius said. "My dad was worried that I might be too soft to be put into Slytherin. He might have been right. I have a feeling the Sorting Hat put me in here for a different reason."

This made Albus stop right in the middle of the hallway to Potions. "Wait. Did the Sorting Hat tell you something when it was on your head?" Albus asked.

"Yeah, why?" Scorpius said. He knew already, but insisted on testing Albus for fun.

"What did it say?" Albus asked urgently, catching up to Scorpius.

"It told me that my father may not love me for who I am, and that me and someone who won't be as accepted into Slytherin as I am will bring about a great change in our house." Scorpius said.

Albus pushed Scorpius into a corner where no one could see them.

"Scorpius, we need to talk to that Sorting Hat!" Albus said urgently. "I don't know how we'll do it. We'll need to talk to my cousin first..."

"Why don't we just talk to McGonnagal instead?" Scorpius wondered.

"Because she scares me," Albus said.

"Whatever, mate," Scorpius said. "Let's go to potions now, okay?"

So, the two of them went to Potions class together. When Professor McGonnagal became the Headmistress of Hogwarts, she changed one major thing about the school. She thought that class sizes were too small, so for the mandatory classes like Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, and History of Magic, each year would be in that class together.

Just when Albus had set down his rucksack on the round table where he wanted to sit, a petite ginger with thick wavy hair and her father's blue eyes bounded into the room, almost knocking Albus over with her hug.

Al was so surprised by Rose that it took him a few moments to figure his face into a smile, and he meant his smile. Rose gave him a giggle for his smile. She was going to ask him if he was okay or how he was, but she thought better of it.

"How do you like Slytherin?" Rose asked genuinely. There was no way she could be mocking him at all, especially because she was not in her family's house either.

"It would be better if people accepted me." Albus said with a serious mood swing in his next sentence. "But we have the coolest common room! It's right under the lake, so it's all green and stuff, and you can see all the things that live in the lake. Though, I haven't seen the legendary giant squid yet. What about you? How do you like Ravenclaw?"

"I love it! But I wish you were in my house, Al," Rosie said. "No one makes fun of me for reading, it's almost better than being at home. I mean, I still do miss Mom and Dad and Hugo, but it's nice having more freedom, you know?"

Albus hadn't actually had time to think about the freedom, more so what kind of hell might be inflicted on him, and what would everyone say when they found out. He hadn't realized he was more free to be who he wanted to be. An old commercial he was chimed in his head, "Be who you wanna be, B-A-R-B-I-E."

"What does the Ravenclaw common room look like?" Scorpius asked.

"None of your business, Malfoy." Rose said. Her mother had warned her about Malfoys before she had gone off to school.

"Oh, come off it, Weasley," Scorp defended himself, "I'm just being friendly. I've no idea what you've heard about my family. Let's start fresh, shall we? My name's Scorpius, and you are?"

"Rose," Rose said with a dignified air.

"Class has commenced," the professor came into the classroom with a dramatic entrance worthy of Lauren Lopez. Though, minus the cross-dressing and rolling around on the floor, so more like Joe Moses. "I am Professor Boynton. Today we will not be creating any potions, unfortunately, but you'll be learning some interesting facts about the ingredients that will go into the potions you will create this term..." Professor Boynton looked down at her desk, most likely at her notes. "Oh. And some rules, too. I know, they're annoying, but we wouldn't want any of you blowing off an ear like...well, never mind that. Oh, and we may not get to this today, but a very wise professor once taught me that the potions' recipes aren't always correct. Though, for the most part, the first year spells are correct." When Professor Boynton said "a very wise professor" she looked right at Albus, but then realized what she was doing and looked away. She did the same thing, too, to Rose when she said "blowing off an ear like..."

Professor Amelie Boynton had tight curly red hair and hazel eyes. She was a young teacher who joined the school the same year as Professor Claire Bailey, who became the Head of Ravenclaw House after Professor Flitwick died, the year she was hired as a staff member. Amelie Boynton was the Head of Slytherin House, and she and Claire Bailey were thought of as the best teachers at Hogwarts, according to the students. It made sense, though. Hagrid never finished Hogwarts, so he doesn't truly have the accreditation to teach Care of Magical Creatures; Professor Trealawney was getting older and more senile than ever; Professor Binns was never interesting in the first place; and Professor Longbottom was nice enough and a good teacher, but he wasn't as interesting as Professors Bailey and Boynton. Professor Bailey taught Transfiguration. The teacher before her had left to teach at Durmstrang because his Muggle wife's job required her to move there. Professor Robbie Montieth was now the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and Professor Daniel Mifflin was now the Charms teacher. Oddly enough, Boynton, Bailey, Montieth, and Mifflin were all the newest, youngest, and most popular teachers in the school. _Also_, they were all close friends, which may have had something to do with it.

"Now off to Charms," Albus said.

"Huzzah!" Scorpius said with false enthusiasm.

"Wait." Rose said as they walked through the halls with the two boys. "So, the two of you are friends?"

Al and Scorp looked at each other and shrugged like Weasley twins. "Yeah," Scorpius said. "Why not? We don't have issues with each other."

"Whatever," Rosie said. They walked on to Charms where a brown haired, bespectacled Professor Bailey was waiting for them.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Albus groaned as he stepped into the entrance of the Great Hall.

"What's the matter?" Rosie asked.

"No one told me lunch was free seating," Albus said.

"Sit with me at the Ravenclaw table," Rosie said.

"But what about James and everyone else?" he asked.

"If they want to sit with you so badly, they'll move to the table." Rose said.

Albus, Scorpius, and Rosie all walked over to the Ravenclaw table. Tomoka beckoned them to sit with her and her friends, so they obliged. From where Albus was sitting, he could see James giving him a look like, _"Why the bloody hell aren't you sitting with us?"_, which Albus ignored, which basically prompted James to sit down next to Rosie, across from Al.

"I never said _you_ could sit with us," Rosie sneered at Scorpius.

"Come on, Rosie, I thought we were mates," Scorpius said.

"It's free seating, Rosie." Albus chided.

"Which brings me to why aren't you sitting with the rest of us at the Gryffindor table, little brother?" James said.

"Because _I _called him over here," Tomoka said. "May I please speak now?" No one said anything, so she continued. "I have decided to start a new club. The technical name will be something along the lines of, like, the Hogwarts Talent Club or the Hogwarts Performance Club."

"And...?" Albus said, waiting for more.

"And I want you to be in it," she said. "Or at least audition, because we need everyone to audition first. We wouldn't want to give the lead to some deadbeat, expressionless student with the voice of a screaming house elf."

Scorpius laughed, and tried to stifle it, but ended up snort-laughing.

"I'm glad someone thinks I'm funny," she said.

"Well I'm up for it, what about you, Al?" Scorp asked.

"Sure I'll do it." Al shrugged.

"Just think, my little brother Albus, a star on the stage!" James said dramatically. "Sign me up too."

"We might actually be able to perform a proper musical now," one of Tomoka's friends commented.

"What were you thinking of doing?" Rosie inquired.

"Well, if worst came to worst, we'd perform _Cats_," Tomoka admitted. She hated that musical, but it's mainly a female-led musical. "But, we'll come to a decision once we've got our members picked out."

"Aww, but what about-" one of her friends began.

"No." Tomoka interrupted sharply. She didn't glare at her friend, but she sure did want to. Tomi handed the boys fliers. "Be there. Four o'clock sharp. You can come and try out, too...um...Rose, right?"

"Right." she said. "I don't think you mentioned your name."

"Tomoka," she said, "call me Tomi."

A girl with honey-colored hair sped-walked through the classroom and sat down next to Albus. She was a Hufflepuff. She brushed a long piece of hair behind her ear that had missed her ponytail once she set her books down.

"Please tell me class hasn't started yet." she quietly pleaded pointlessly at Albus with her gold-flecked blue eyes once she plopped down in her seat.

"Trust me, you do _not_ want this class to start," Al said. "There is _nothing _worse than a double period of History of Magic."

"Why?" the girl asked innocently. "I love history."

"Wait till you meet our professor." Albus said.

"Al, who are you talking to?" Scorp's blond head peaked over in front of Rose's redheaded one. "No! Too cool!" He got up and pushed a girl out of her seat next to the honey-haired ponytail. "Get out of my seat, Barbara."

"You don't have to follow your father's example and be as big an asshole as he is, Scorpius Malfoy." Barbara stalked away and found a new place to sit.

"Ah, how's it, newbie? Why weren't you in class before, huh?" he asked. "Oh, ew, you're a Hufflepuff. Barbie! You can have your seat back!"

"Don't be so cruel," Albus bumped Scorp's shoulder hard, and he started to rub it. "What is your name, newbie?"

"Hey! That's my name for her!" Scorp bumped Al's shoulder.

"My name is Aurelie-Amber." she said.

"Aurelie Amber." Scorpius repeated.

"That's quite a last name," Albus said. "Zac Amber. I say, it almost sounds better than Zac Efron."

"No, no, no, no, no, Amber is not my surname," she said.

"Middle name?" Scorpius said, confused.

"Why on earth would I tell you strangers my middle name? You only tell that to your best mates." Aurelie-Amber said. "Aurelie-Amber is my first name. Dylans is my last name."

"Why aren't we your best mates, Aurelie?" Scorpius teased. "I thought Hufflepuffs just _loved_ making friends!"

"Oh, I have no problem making enemies either," she defended.

"Ooh, a spunky Hufflepuff. You know, I like you, newbie." Scorp said and shook her hand. "My name is Scorpius Malfoy."

"And I'm Albus Potter," Al and Aurelie-Amber shook hands. "And this is our friend Rosie."

"What?" Rosie said.

"Hi, I'm Aurelie-Amber Dylans." she said. "I arrived at school a tad late due to special circumstances."

"Oh, hi, I'm Rose Weasley," Rosie waved, being unable to reach Aurelie-Amber's hand.

"What should we call you since your name is so long?" Scorp wondered.

"Call me Aurelie or Lili [pronunced= Lee-Lee], whichever you'd like." she said. "At my old school and at home everyone either called me Amber or used my full name. I figured since this is a new school and I'm starting afresh, I might as well change what people call me."

"But why?" Al asked.

"Because I hated the way everyone else said my name. I mean, don't you have one person in your life that you hate the way they say your name?"

"Auntie Daphne." Scorpius said without thinking. "She makes my name sound like 'score piss'."

Albus burst out laughing, not even for a second thinking he could contain himself. "I'm sorry, Scorp, it was just too funny."

"It's not funny-"

"Settle down, children, settle," Professor Binns flew though the wall. Aurelie nearly jumped up into the rafters on the high ceiling. "Welcome back to Hogwarts. This term we shall cover the subjects..."

Professor Binns' voice almost became background music, his teaching style was so dry. During the course of the class, Albus found it so hard to pay attention to what Binns was saying that he played tic-tac-toe with Aurelie. When that got boring, they played hangman. When that got boring, there were fifteen minutes left in class, Al and Aurelie wrote notes to each other.

_What do we do after the double-period is over?_ Aurelie wrote.

_We—well, Scorpius and I are going to this thing my friend asked us to audition for. I'm not sure if Rosie is coming too._ Albus answered.

_What is it for?_

_My friend is starting Hogwarts' first drama club._

_ Oooh! Can I audition too? I love performing!_

_ Really? Sure. Anyone can audition._

_ I've only been in a play at my old school. And I've never sang in public before..._

_ Really?_

_ Well, despite birthdays and such, but I've never sung a solo or an audition..._

_ I'm sure you'll do well._

_ I don't want to embarrass myself... Maybe I'll just audition for a dancing and speaking part..._

_ No, you should sing too. Let them decide if they want to showcase your voice or not. You should at least give it a go._

_ Fine._

Just as Aurelie had slid the note over to Albus, the bell rang. Time to go audition.

"Rosie, are you coming?" Al asked as they headed out the door and into a current of students trying to navigate the hallway.

"Yes, I'm not sure if I should audition, seeing as I'm nervous about singing in public." Rose said. "I think I'd rather come more for moral support."

"You should give it a go." Aurelie said. Albus flicked her for using what he'd told her. She just smiled.

"I don't know..." Rose said.

The four children walked through the Great Hall's entranceway, and found Tomoka. She came over and greeted them.

"New meat coming through!" she quoted upon seeing Aurelie.

Lili laughed, getting the "Mean Girls" reference.

Tomoka smiled triumphantly and proceeded to explain how the auditions would work. "Since we gave you all such short notice, we have a list full of well-known songs to choose from depending on who shows up today. If we get ten more people to show up, we'll audition people, if not, we're going to have to keep everyone who showed up, and we'll just warm up and get an idea of how we'll all work together." She handed the four of them the lists of songs and walked off.

"What are these songs?" Scorpius said as the quad checked out the list. "'I Dreamed a Dream'? 'Defying Gravity'? 'Tomorrow'..."

"They're songs from Muggle musicals," Aurelie answered. "You really don't know them?"

"No. Ahh... but here are some I _do_." Scorp said. "'Part of Your World", "Go the Distance', ooh, and a duet, 'A Whole New World'... So, what are you lot going to sing?"

"I dunno yet-"

"Hold it a second," Aurelie said. "You know _Disney_ songs, but you don't know world famous musicals?"

"My father runs a very strict household," he explained. "There's hardly even any room for me to think as freely as I do. My father is a racist, and as much into keeping and protecting pure-bloods in our family line as my grandfather. Though I don't think it matters. Anyway, he only lets us watch Disney Channel, Disney movies, and ABC Family for the Harry Potter movie marathon weekends... And he only lets us listen to Disney songs and both Muggle and real Wizard Rock."

"Did somebody say Wizard Rock?" Tomoka strode over, as regally as any dramatic stage actress could muster.

"Why, yes, actually," Lili said. "Scorp here was just telling us about his unusually...erm...well just odd censoring that his father puts on things."

"Yes, I overheard," she said. "Let me know next time they're having a Phineas and Ferb marathon, and maybe I'll stop by." she gave a short laugh, mocking Scorpius. "Well, you've got seven minutes left to pick your songs."

"Does that mean we are auditioning?" Albus asked.

"No," she said, "but it's always good to be prepared. And it's seven minutes left to our final decision. Plus, my co-director isn't even here yet." She looked around, doing a headcount.

"Aurelie, what are you-"

"Shh! I'm trying to count!" Tomoka interrupted Albus. "...Okay, done. We have seven minutes to get seven more people to show. Great."

Just then Professors Boynton and Bailey walked through the doors. Tomoka gave an "Oh good" and walked over to them at the door.

"I'm glad to see you, Professor Boynton," Tomoka said, greeting. She turned to the other professor. "Professor Bailey, what are you doing here?"

"Don't be rude," Professor Boynton chided. "I decided that she should help us out sometimes too because she has experience in the theater too."

"Alright," Tomoka agreed. "Well, we need seven more people to show up to bother auditioning people. Do you just want to say forget it and begin warm-up excersizes?"

Just then James Potter opened the double doors with dramatic flair and strutted over to his brother and his friends, on his way giving Professor Bailey hi-5.

"We're tight," Claire Bailey mocked Tomoka's American accent.

"That's six more," Amelie Boynton said. "No, don't bother."

"Alright, guys!" Tomoka said loudly to get everyone's attention. "Thank you for coming, and congratulations on making it into Hogwarts' first Performance Club. Come over here and join us for warm-ups."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Rose hurried inside and shut the door to her dorm, melting behind the door's shelter, clutching her school books to her chest.

"Ooh, tell me Rosie, which boy has caught your fancy? It's not Professor Montieth or Seyfried, is it?" a girl with dirty blond hair and red-rimmed rectangular glasses asked, coming out from behind a bunk bed.

"Agnes, why should I tell you?" Rose said fiercely.

"True," Agnes nodded sadly, "you probably shouldn't, seeing as I have a friend over here."

"Agnes, why would you invite someone into our dormitory without asking anyone?" Rosie asked impatiently.

"Well, because she's more family than a friend." Agnes said slyly.

"Tell me who it is, Agnes. Don't go beating about the bush." Rosie was impatient.

"Tee hee!" Came a giggle from around the bed. Through it came the face of a ghost-girl that Rosie had never met, but whom had had a ghastly fancy for her uncle when he was at school, and for all he knew, she could still.

The ghost-girl looked about maybe a year older than the two living girls in the dormitory. She had mousy, straight brown hair and big, ugly glasses that looked like glasses from the sixties or seventies. She was wearing Ravenclaw robes.

"Oh, hello," the ghost-girl giggled.

Rosie just looked at the ghost, impatient and dumbfounded.

"Rose Weasley, meet my great-aunt Myrtle." Agnes said proudly (if it might be seen as such).

"You're _the_ Moaning Myrtle?" Rose asked.

"The one and only. Well, except for those two Muggle Americans who I hear have made a band after me." Myrtle said.

"Myrtle, why don't you leave?" Rose asked.

"Because, this is a family reunion for me and my sweet neice-y, Agnes." she said defiantly, though coated with a sickly sweet tone.

"Myrtle, that wasn't a question. Leave. Now." Rose's face hardened.

"No." Myrtle relented.

"Auntie Myrtle, I think you should leave," Agnes suggested sweetly. "You know how those Weasleys can get when they're mad."

"Oh, I know." Myrtle said, peering over her nose at Rosie. "Alright, I'll go. Be safe." She said to Agnes and then flew away probably to her miserable bathroom stall.

Rosie walked over and plopped down on her bed still wearing a disgusted and unamused face from encountering Moaning Myrtle.

"So..." Agnes weaseled her way over next to Rosie to get the deets. "Who's the boy?"

"No one." Rosie said quite moodily in Agnes's opinion.

"Oh, then is it a girl?" Agnes raised her eyebrows like a pervert.

"No!" Rosie pushed her off the bed. "Don't say such things! What is wrong with you, Agnes? I don't rate any girls!"

"Okay, then," Agnes slunk away, quite like her aunt. It was rather awkward the resemblance between the two of them. They both had long, mop-like hair, though the color was different between the two of them. They shared similar glasses, and a hook-ish, rounded nose. They had pale skin, a horrible fashion sense (not that it mattered much at Hogwarts, because everyone always wore their uniforms except for holidays, days at Hogsmeade, and weekends), and were both social outcasts. Being a Ravenclaw does inot/i help with that for anyone. Luckily, though, I was already friends with Al. And luckily, Al was friends with a very handsome Slytherin.

Oh, what my father would have to say about my feelings for Scorpius. He might even have my head.

"Ooooh! Rosie!" a curly, golden-haired girl bounded into the room. "Tell me what happened!"

"Well," Rosie exhaled heavily. "Actually, Eden, nothing happened. I... just...I have feelings for-oh, God! It's so strong, Eden, but I cannot let anyone know. Especially not him. Eden, I think I'm in love with Scorpius?"

"Like what kind of love? Like, official love-at-first-sight kind of love?" she inquired.

Rosie bit her lower lip and nodded. Eden's eyes grew large. "Oh."


	7. Chapter 7

** Chapter 7**

_Dear Mum,_

_I have had a fun first few days of school. I'm friends with Albus, Scorpius Malfoy, and a new girl named Aurelie-Amber Dylans. The teachers are very nice. But Mum, I need to tell you something. I really like this boy... I like Scorpius, actually. And I just need to confide in you. I want you to know my secret. Please don't tell Dad._

___Thank you. I miss you. Hope Hugo is well.__  
__Love,__  
__Rosie_

Rose crumpled up the letter. She couldn't send that to her mother. She couldn't tell anyone. Eden would keep the secret for now. This might just be a small, short lived crush. And then Eden would know how hard Rosie falls. And Rose would know too. She'd never had a crush like this before. Only the small, chase-around-the-playground kind of immature kind of crushes.

In the dungeons, Scorpius was thinking about the day. He had to choose a song that he would sing for the drama auditions. He wanted to impress Rosie, but he didn't feel like he had to. It would just happen anyway. He wondered how she sounded when she sang. He bet she sounded like an angel.

Scorpius and Albus were sitting in the Slytherin common room in two cushy chairs in a far corner. Scorpius was first to finish his homework.

"What's taking you so long?" Scorpius demanded impatiently.

"I'm a slow writer, Scorp! I'm sorry!" Albus continued writing his answers down for his Transfiguration homework. "I can't believe how much homework I got on my first day."

"Hey, I got it, too, Al." Scorp said. "It's really not that much. It's just a lot of little stuff. When will you be done?"

"I don't know," Albus said impatiently.

"Fine, then," Scorpius said. "I'm going down to the Great Hall for dinner. Join me soon, will you?"

"I'll try." Albus said dismissively. "I just need to finish this paragraph. I'm almost done." He continued slaving over the paper while Scorpius went upstairs to eat.

In the Gryffindor common room, Victoire was curled in a ball on a chair so that no one could notice her (which, might I tell you, was hard for her to do) while she stared at the fire. She was hugging her knees, getting lost in a memory.

_Heads turned as we walked through the halls, arm-in-arm. I knew they were jealous. Both the boys and the girls. Girls who had been pining after Teddy either look at me with contempt, or with a stupid look on their face that says "How the hell...?" How the hell did I managed to steal Teddy Lupin, the school stud's, heart? It was easy. I guess you could say I've always had it, and he's always had mine. Even when we were little.__  
__  
__We passed by a gaggle of boys who turned their in our direction. Is it safe to say we were Hogwarts' new "it" couple? I _am_ the most popular girl in school. I even have friends in Slytherin. So does Teddy.___

_I looked up at my boyfriend. His hair was as crimson as my father's. I gave his hand a squeeze._

"Victoire," Victoire's friend Cascata awoke her from her memory, cutting the flashback short, "do you want to go get dinner?"

"Did Dominique already go?" Victoire asked. Dominique and Victoire were going to eat together tonight. Louis could get annoying, so this was just going to be the two sisters.

"I haven't seen her since lunch," Cascata admitted.

"Ah, let's just go any way." Victoire held out her hand, and Cascata pulled her forward. She followed Cascata across the common room and out through the portrait, looking at her long black hair. Victoire watched how it cascaded down her back like a waterfall of ink spilling from her head. Cascata was _jolie_. But Victoire was much more beautiful. Both girls had caught a lot of boys' attention. Cascata's mother was a witch who had been in Ravenclaw around the time of Victoire's uncles, named Cho Chang. She had married very young because she fell madly in love with a man she met in America just after graduating from Hogwarts. They had Cascata soon after, as well as two other children: Emiko and Cedric (who was named this for reasons that Cho's husband does not know to date).

Victoire and Cascata walked into the Great Hall and sat down across from Molly, who was talking to one of her friends.

"Hey, Molly?" Victoire asked before she took any food.

"Yeah?" she turned her head, thick dark hair whipping around.

"Have you seen Dominique around?" Victoire inquired.

"No, sorry, V," Molly turned back to her friend.

"Great." Victoire said sarcastically.

Albus came down to the Great Hall about ten minutes after Scorpius. He sat himself down next to his friend and began picking himself out some food to eat.

"Hey," Scorpius said suddenly through a mouthful of food, "did you ever write your parents a letter back?"

Al's eyes flashed wide, and then he slumped his head down in his hand. "No," he said, sounding defeated.

"Me neither," said Scorpius. "Guess we know what we're doin' when we get back to the common room, eh, Ferb?"

"Who?" Albus said through a mouthful of noodles (tonight's dinner menu was Chinese themed).

"Oh, yeah, I forgot. You told me you don't watch little kid shows," Scorpius said.

"Yeah," Albus said, and continued eating. He swallowed what was in his mouth and looked across the Great Hall, trying to find Aurelie-Amber Dylans and see if she was alone or sitting with other people, conversing.

"Looking for Aurelie?" Scorpius asked.

"Possibly, Malfoy," Al said. "Why don't you look for Rosie?"

"Because I know where she is." Scorpius said. "You're not going to tell her are you?"

"No, I couldn't. Are you?" Albus asked.

"Tell Rosie? I would love to, but I don't think it would make any difference now. Plus, she doesn't have feelings for me. I can tell." Scorpius said. They continued eating their meals.

At the far end of the table, Tomoka and her friends got up to leave the Great Hall. Before she left, she stopped by Albus and Scorpius to ask Al a question.

"Hey, Al, have you ever noticed that you're related to about half the people in Gryffindor?" Tomi asked.

"Haha, yeah, almost half," Albus laughed and Tomoka walked away, lightening the world with each step she took. He turned back to Scorpius. "There's just something about her..."

"That makes you wonder how the world looks in her eyes?" Scorpius finished his sentence. "Yeah, I know."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

She gave the letter to Evangeline, her snowy white owl and gave it the instructions, "Give this to Teddy, please." As she was heading out of the Owelry, Professor Longbottom was heading in.

"Hullo, Victoire," Neville said, thinking how much things had changed. When he was a student he was Mr. Longbottom, and now he was _Professor_ Longbottom. Though, he was thinking of how he was calling Victoire by her given name, instead of calling her Miss Weasley.

"Hello, Professor," she said with a sweet smile. You could see that bit of Veela blood in her veins every time she smiled. "How are you?" she asked.

"Things could always be worse, couldn't they?" he laughed, seeming to be in better spirits than he actually was.

"That's true," she said, and left the Owelry, left Neville alone with a letter to his wife, Hannah.

When he was at Hogwarts, he almost didn't know who Hannah was. She was just a random Hufflepuff. They didn't run in the same circles. Hannah had never been in the D.A. Or hung around Harry Potter or his roommates. Neville had been in love with Luna Lovegood from the end of fourth year to the present date. The only problem was that he was married, and she was married, and he had done The Terrible Thing, and now he was miserable.

The Terrible Thing he did was letting Luna go. He had told her he didn't deserve her. She was a free spirit that needed to be set free from the cage Neville thought he had trapped her in. Luna thought Neville no longer loved her; he thought he was holding her back. They both cried. Luna is now better off than Neville. He still cries himself to sleep at night at school pretty often. Every day, he wishes he had had the balls to have gotten her back when he had the chance. He lost that chance when he did not object to her marriage to Rolf Scammander. The priest had said, "Are there any reasons these two should not be wed?" Yet he had not done anything. She even _looked_ at him when the priest said that. It took every bit of himself not to stand up and shout out, but he had thought she was in love. He could sstill always tell her, right? He could say, "Luna, I'm madly in love with you, but I let you marry that man Rolf because I thought you were in love. Luna, let's right what was wronged too long ago. Let us fix this—change our lives for the better."

But he couldn't. He couldn't because of Hillary, his angel. Every time he looks at those beautiful eyes, that adorable smile, he loves Hannah again. HE lives through this for his love for Hillary. He could not ruin her life with a divorce and a stepmother. She deserved a happy, whole family. He felt he owed that to her. Neville did not hate his wife, he just was not in love with her the way he was still infatuated by Luna.

Neville wanted to get down and scream at the top of his lungs, let out all this pent-up aggression. He felt that the walls of the Owelry were going to crumble in on him, and that they should. Though, before he could betray his angst to the world, Albus walked in with his friend Scorpius Malfoy. Neville found his composure and greeted the students.

"Hello, boys," Professor Longbottom said. It was so strange seeing these two together. It was just like seeing Harry with Draco being friends. It seemed unnatural, strange, bizzarre. But they were not Harry and Draco, they were Albus and Scorpius.

"Hello, professor," they said together. Albus sensed that something was wrong, but he didn't say anything.

Upon hearing his voice, Neville's owl flew down from the rafters to greet his master. It landed on his shoulder. Good thing it was a small owl.

"Here, give this to Hannah," he said, handing the owl his letter. "I'll see you later, boys." He said and departed.

"Bye, Professor," Albus said.

"He's so nice," Scorpius said to Al, "I don't see what my dad had against him."

Albus had an idea why but didn't say anything. He knew well enough that Neville struggled in school, and still struggled with some every-day magic. Instead, they called down their owls and sent off their letters.

"What did you say in your letter?" Albus asked.

"Nothing special. Just that school's nice. Things like that." Scorp said. "Why?"

"I was just wondering if you mentioned anything about us being friends." Al admitted. "I didn't say anything because I was trying to calm them down about me being in Slytherin."

"I didn't." Scorpius said. The two of them walked in silence—out of exhaustion from the school day. Then a great idea hit Scorp.

"Al! I just had a brilliant idea!" He stopped in his tracks. "We shouldn't tell our parents that we're friends—not yet. But we should ask to go to one of our houses over the Christmas holiday."

"I dunno, Scorp..." Al thought about it. "To be honest, I'm a little afraid of your dad..."

"Then it doesn't have to be my house, what about yours? Your family's nice, no matter what aweful things my Dad says," Scorp said.

"Thanks," Al said. "I just hope they wouldn't seem removed and rude to you."

"Well, who cares? Being with friends and family is the best part. And if Rosie's there that's good, too." Scorp said.

Al noticed Scorpius was making this about himself. He wondered... "Scorp," Albus asked, "do you not want to go home for the holiday?" He stopped in front of the entranceway to the Slytherin common room. Scorp's face flushed.

"You can be honest with me, I don't mind." Al said.

Scorp's gaze was focused on the floor. "Yeah." He admitted.

"That's okay, I understand." Albus said. He walked into the common room. Scorpius followed.

"How could you? Your family is great," Scorpius protested.

"Well, I understand because my dad never wanted to go home to my Great Aunt and Great Uncle." Al said. He understood why, too. He'd met his Great Aunt and Great Uncle once before at the Dursley's house. His father and Dudley were on pretty good terms, so their families would sometimes spend time together over holiday. But the older Dursleys held a kind of contempt for Harry and his family.

Scorp still didn't believe Albus could relate, but didn't say anything more about it. "I'm going to bed." he said.

Across the common room, Tomoka spotted Al and beckoned him over, while his friend went back to their dormitory to catch some "z"s.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

A few weeks later, when it was almost December, Harry received this letter.

_"Dear Dad,_

_ I have become very good friends with this one boy. It's Scorpius Malfoy. Do you think he could spend this holiday with us?_

_ School is really good. The performance club James and I are part of is providing the entertainment for the Yule Ball at school this year._

_ My classes are good._

_ I miss you and Mum. And Lily, too. How is she?_

_ Give everyone my best._

_Love,_

_Albus."_

Ugh. Now Harry would have to talk to Ginny about this. He was fine with it as long as Ginny was. He knew that Scorpius wouldn't possibly be the asshole Draco had been to him if Albus was friends with the boy.

Harry walked out of his study and down into the kitchen, where Ginny was preparing dinner.

"Oh, good," she said up on seeing him enter the dining room, "you're just in time for dinner. Help me set the table."

He picked up the salad bowl and headed into the dining room with Ginny. "Hey, Ginny?" he began.

"Yes?" she raised an eyebrow, but didn't look up as she set the meat down on the table.

"How would you feel about Albus having a friend over for the holiday?" he asked.

"That seems fine." she said, paying it no real mind.

"Okay, good. Because it's Scorpius Malfoy." he said, ready to head up to his study to quickly jot a letter to Al.

Ginny looked up abruptly. "No. I change my mind. No way in hell. I will _not_ have a Malfoy under this roof."

"But, Ginny," Harry protested. "How bad could the kid be if Al is friends with him?"

"He's a _Malfoy_." Ginny said.

"But he's Albus's good friend." Harry protested still. "You shouldn't stereotype him just because of his family. Should we think that Albus is evil now just because he's in Slytherin?"

Ginny stopped. She put her hands on the back of a chair. "You're right." she said. "I guess it was a little racist."

_Not really.._. Harry thought. _But whatever._

"Fine." Ginny said. "We'll meet the kid. Al can have his friend over for the holiday."

Harry smiled, imagining the look on his son's face when he got Harry's letter.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Dumbfounded, Albus turned to Scorpius, "Mate, you're not going to believe this." He gestured to his letter.

"What is it?"

"My parents said you could come over for the Christmas holiday!"

Scorp's face fell with shock. "No way!" he said with excitement, his smile coming back like a boomerang. "This is fantastic!" He high-fived Al, and man-hugged him, ruffling his already untidy black hair.

"What's exciting?" Rose asked the boys with quite a bit of Hermione's all-business tone, which was only emphasized by her clutch on a couple of books.

"Scorp is going to spend Christmas at my house," Al said. "That is, if he ever tells his parents he's not coming home." He gave Scorp a pointed look.

"I will, I promise," he said. "As long as you remind me tonight to write to them."

"You lot ready to go to class?" Aurelie asked, appearing out of no where.

"I swear, you are anything _but_ a Hufflepuff." Scorpius said as he and Al stood up to walk with their friends.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to take that..." Aurelie brushed off that comment.

"You don't mean that you're actually _proud_ to be in that House?" Scorpius pretended to be mortified.

Aurelie gave his arm a soft punch for the insult. Their friendly flirting didn't only scare Albus. In fact, it sent most of the four friends tossing and turning that night. However, in the moment, it was all good fun for Scorp and Aurelie.

"Thanks, mate." he said.

"Hey, Scorpius," Al shrugged on a comfortable shirt and pulled off his black slacks, "earlier, were you flirting with Aure?"

"What?" Scorpius asked incredulously. "No. If I did, I didn't mean to, honest."

"It really seemed like you were."

"I wasn't. Plus, we're only eleven. We're way too young to date. There's no where for us to go anyway."

"I was just..."

"Calm down, Al. We're just friends. It's all in sport. What's that American saying?... 'Bros before hoes' I think it is..."

Albus noticed a white tube of paper sticking out of a hole in the wall next to his bed. He pulled it out, finding a deep-sea blue eye in its place. He unravelled the note and read it.

_Al-__  
__Tell Scorpius he's right, but next time say it with an American accent.__  
__3 Tomi_

"Tomoka says you're right," Albus put his back to the hole to tell Scorp, who was taking clothing out of his trunk. Tomoka jabbed him in the back with a pen. "And she says to pronounce it with an American accent next time."

"Oh, okay, thanks Tomi!" Scorpius shouted the last bit.

"_Muffliato!_" Albus cast upon the hole. "I need to talk to you, Scorp."

"Whoa, how did you know that spell?" Scorpius asked in excitement.

"My dad taught it to me." he said. "Thought it might be useful. I want to talk to you about what the hat said to us. I know we haven't thought about it in a while, but I think it's pretty important. When the Hat was on my head, he said he put me here because there was something I needed to do for Hogwarts."

"And what is that?" Scorpius asked.

"I don't know, but I'm going to need you to help me find out."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Scorpius tapped his quill on his knee. A blank piece of parchment lay in his lap. He was stalling, afraid of the letter he would receive in response. He knew he probably would show up at Al's front door anyway, but he still wanted his parents' approval.

Albus sat on the top bunk, going between passing notes to Tomoka, whose dorm was apparently right next to theirs, in order to talk about privacy and the chink in the wall, and writing his History of Magic essay. Albus reread his previous two sentences and began to write another, getting one step closer to finishing his essay on the goblin wars or the enslavement of house elves or whatever it was he was supposed to be writing about.

Scorpius hopped up onto Al's bed and said, "I can't do it, Al. I can't ask them. I don't know what to say. I don't' want them to say no."

"They probably won't." Al said just as Tomoka jabbed a roll of paper into his pack.

"I don't know, Al," he said. "You don't know my parents."

"Do you need me to write it?" Al said.

"Yes."

"Fine, then you write my essay," Al handed his friend the parchment. "Wait. No, never mind, give that back to me. I don't think it's a good idea for you to write my essay."

"Thanks, mate," Scorp said. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem. It's what mates are for."

"You want to iWHAT/i?" Rosie exclaimed.

The friends were walking the grounds so they could converse without other people listening in.

"Albus Severus Potter!" she said, her thick hair starting to grow with her passionate frustration. "Do you not understand that this is practically illegal! In fact, I think it iis/i illegal!"

"But, Rose, it's important!" Albus said. "The Hat told me that he needed me to do something for Hogwarts. I want to know what it is."

"Why don't you just ask McGonnagall if you can talk to the Hat?" Rosie asked.

"Yeah, what's she gonna say? No?" Aurelie said.

"She could ask why we want to talk to the Hat," Scorp said.

"So then you tell her." Aure said.

"No." Al said. "We can't do that. I have this feeling that she's not suppossed to know about this."

"And if your feeling is wrong?" Rose challenged.

"We'll deal with that if it happens."

Rose sighed, "You're so foolish..."

"You know, Al, I really think we should get help from someone on the iinside/i, if you know what I mean," Aurelie suggested, "someone we trust."

"It's a good idea," Scorp said, "but I don't know..."

"I don't know if Neville would do it..." Al said.

"Who?" Aure asked.

"Neville is Mr. Longbottom's first name," Rose explained. "He's a friend of the family."

"Oh, okay," Aurelie shook it off. She oftentimes forgot that Albus was the son of the famous Harry Potter, and that he and Rose were cousins. They honestly looked nothing alike. However, though Aurelie knew that Harry Potter was Albus's father, she didn't actually know anything about him, besides that he saved the Wizarding World, is a war hero, and defeated the evil Lord Voldemort. She knew little about that time in history.

"I think Neville would definitely help us. He has complete faith in Hogwarts." Rose said.

"But it's not Hogwarts he needs to have faith in at this point, it's us," Sorpius reasoned. "We're the ones making the request. What if he doesn't believe us, and thinks we're going in to steal something?"

"Well, I don't think he would put that past you, Malfoy," Rosie said, "but Neville Longbottom trusts me. And Albus. Not James so much."

Albus and Rose laughed. James was such a prankster, and he had a habit for pranking Neville particularly well. Just last Christmas, James pulled another great one. The dining room in the Burrow doesn't have a particularly high ceiling, considering how tall all the Weasleys (and Neville as well) are, so James had climbed up on a chair and placed a balloon up on the ceiling above Neville's seat. Then, he set a pinecone on Neville's chair, knowing he would not look down to see it, and that he would jump out of fright.

The entire prank went according to plan. Everyone was gathered round the table, and was sitting down. Neville sits in his seat, letting out a yelp like a little girl, and jumping high enough to reach the rafters, where his head bumped the incredibly fragile balloon filled with paint (which James had enchanted to burst on impact), which burst all over him, covering Neville in purple paint. It was /i was laughing. That is, except Neville.

"Why?" Scorp and Aurelie asked in unison.

"If you come to Christmas with us, you'll see," Rose and Al both said remarkably in unison as well. The only difference was that Albus gave a pointed look at Scorpius, whose heart picked up pace suddenly, worried of his parents' reaction.

Scorpius and Albus walked to the Great Hall, talking about what they wrote about in their latest essay. There was so much homework that he got at Hogwarts, it was really annoying. Though, Albus knew it wasn't as bad as Muggles had it. He still kept in regular correspondence with his friend, Daniel, who has been telling him all about his "adventures" in Muggle school. Albus had to admit, being at a magic school was iway/i better.

The boys sat down at the table and began eating their breakfast. Scorpius had eggs and bacon. Albus took a little of everything he could see. He took after his Uncle Ron in the eating department. It was one of those unfortunate Weasley characteristics. Tomoka tried to talk to the tired boys about her usual nonsense. Eventually, after listening to Tomoka blather on about the differences of Shakespearian theater and modern theater to Scorpius (he didn't understand that there was anything different about the two), the owls came down from the ceiling, dropping post everywhere!

One letter landed right in front of Scorpius. He picked up the letter, holding it in his shaking hands.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Draco opened up the letter his son had sent him and read it thoroughly. He pulled out a piece of parchment from his desk and dipped his quill in the vial of ink on his desk. He began to write,

_Dear Scorpius,_

The door to his study opened and Astoria came in, holding two cups of steaming liquid. "I made you some coffee," she said. "I know how much work you still have to do."

"What are you drinking, then? You still have to wake up early in the morning," Draco said.

"Just hot chocolate." she said. Draco didn't say anything. He knew she didn't need the sugar. No one did, but he didn't want to tell her this and offend her. He didn't think she was fat at all, he thought she was beautiful. He had never really thought many women were beautiful. When he was younger he had thought Hermione Granger was beautiful, that's why he teased her. He had thought Pansy was hot and easy, so that's why he went with her for so long. Also, he knew his father would severely punish him if he was truly open with himself at that time. But now he had found a woman he loved more than any other in the world, and that was Astoria. "What is this?" she asked.

"Scorpius sent us a letter." he said.

"And you were just going to reply without even telling me?" she asked incredulously. She snatched up Scorp's letter and began reading it. When she was finished, she turned to Draco, carefully weighing her choice of words. The ones she chose were, "So, what were you thinking of telling him?"

"Well, my first instinct is to say no because I've always hated Potter." Draco admitted.

"You were jealous. Jealousy is different from hate." Astoria reasoned with him.

"Let's not talk about this right now." Draco said, starting to get edgy. Astoria backed off. He continued, "But then I also want him home to share Christmas with us as a family. It's one of the few times we get to spend together."

"What if you asked if we could go visit during the holiday?" Astoria suggested.

"Are you kidding?" Draco exclaimed. "The Weasleys couldn't hate me more than they despised Lord Voldemort himself! It would be so awkward."

"Well, maybe we should all learn from Scorpius and Albus, Draco. We need to learn to put our past—or other peoples' pasts—behind us and look to the future with open minds and acceptance in our hearts." she suggested.

"Why the Hat put you in Slytherin, I'll never know," Draco said, giving his wife a lingering kiss on the lips. "I do feel like I shouldn't stop him from being with his friends where I know he's happy. I'm worried that he'd be miserable if he were stuck here with us and my parents all holiday."

"Then, why not let him go?" his wife asked him.

"What if they don't accept him?" Draco worried.

"You're over-thinking things, Draco. Plus, he said in his letter that Albus wrote to his parents and they said they'd be delighted to have him." Astoria said.

"Do you really think it's okay?" he looked up at his wife with puppy-dog eyes.

"I believe he'll have a great time, Draco." she said. "She'll enjoy himself, and if anyone's rude to him, he's bold enough to stand up for himself. He's more brave than either you or me." Astoria put her chin on Draco's head, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "How about this, sweetheart, you write Scorpius a letter telling him he's allowed to spend the holiday with his friends, and I'll write to the Potters thanking them for having Scorpius over and asking if we can come visit? I'll meet you upstairs in fifteen minutes, gorgeous."

Before she could leave the room, Draco posed the question to her, "Astoria, do you think Scorpius is afraid of us?"

Neither one of them knew or wanted to know the answer. Surely, soon enough, the two letters lay open on the bedside table, mimicking Astoria and Draco's loving positions as they held each other in peaceful sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Rose pushed a half-filled trunk on a cart through the wild fray of children trying to board the train. She had not encountered Scorpius or Albus leaving the castle. She knew Aurelie was going to have to stay at school this winter holiday. She had wished she had thought of asking her to join the Weasleys to celebrate Christmas, but she hadn't thought of it... She knew Tomoka was staying back at the school since her parents were all the way out in New Zealand, so they would have each other. It was truly amazing to Rose that they let Tomoka stay even though technically now she lived in New Zealand. Hogwarts doesn't accept foreigners; they only serve Ireland and Great Britain. She figured they must have been making an exception.

Rose was toting her cart onto the train with her when she spotted out of the corner of her eye Albus helping Scorpius get his luggage onto the train. Rose hopped off the stairs onto the train and hurtled through the crowd carrying her trunk behind her. "Al! Scorpius!" she yelled after them. "Wait for me!"

Albus turned his head, loosing his foothold for Scorpius, which caused him to lose footing, slip, and fall right on top of Albus. Rosie stopped to laugh at the spectacle of them. She couldn't catch her breath; she couldn't stop laughing!

Scorpius stood up and brushed his robes off. His face was beet red from embarrassment. He lent a hand down to Albus as he said, "You're absolutely useless!"

"Hey, it's all Rosie's fault!" Albus passed the blame to his cousin.

"Alright, alright, I'll take the blame; I'm sorry!" Rose said through her laughter.

Scorpius's expression remained serious as his flushed face began to fade again, but only slowly, "Let's get onto the train," he said gruffly.

The train finally stopped at King's Cross Station. The children all ran out of the train as fast as they could to say hello and hug their parents, or whomever they would be spending the holiday with. Rose, Albus, and Scorpius all walked off together in a somewhat subdued trance. James moved along behind them.

"Could you move any slower?" he said, irritated.

"Yes," Rose answer snappily.

The trio hopped off the train and James eagerly landed behind them, free from their slow movement. James ran to his dad and gave him a huge hug before his brother had the chance to. "Dad!" he said.

Harry laughed and ruffled his son's hair. "How have you been, James? Caused any trouble recently?"

"Not any that you need to know about!" he said and ran off to greet his mum and little sister.

"Hi, Dad," Albus gave his father a big hug. He stepped away and introduced his father to his friend. "Dad, this is my friend Scorpius. Scorp, this is my dad, Harry Potter."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Potter," Scorpius stuck out his hand for Harry to shake. Harry took it in his own much larger hand. Scorpius didn't seem like his father; he smiled broadly up at Harry as they shook hands.

"It's nice to finally meet you too, Scorpius," Harry said kindly. "I'm glad Albus is going to get to have a friend over for the holidays. You know, when I was growing up I never got to have anyone over. My first year I had to stay at Hogwarts over Christmas."

"Really? Why?" Scorpius asked innocently.

Harry was a little flustered. No one had ever asked him why, that he could recall. "Well, my parents died the night Lord Voldemort gave me this scar; that was also the same night I moved in with my aunt and uncle on my mother's side. They were very terrible to me. So, of course, when we were given the option to stay at Hogwarts over the holiday or go home, I chose to stay at Hogwarts and avoid having to see my awful family. I also had a friend who stayed behind with me, so that was nice."

"I'm sorry about your childhood, Mr. Potter," Scorpius felt genuinely bad for Harry; he never grew up with the kind of love that Scorpius was lucky enough to experience. He didn't grow up having the kind of love that he shows to his own children.

Harry patted Scorp on the head, "No use crying over spilt milk."

"Uncle Harry, where are my parents?" Rosie finally asked. Her brow was knit with worry. She was hoping desperately that Harry would say, "Oh, they're right over there!" or that he would tell her that he was taking her home. Though, still in the back of her mind was the fear that they were late; that they were leaving her all alone for a while; they weren't here for her. She's afraid of being abandoned, even if it's unintentional. It makes her heart pound and her thoughts fleet; being alone terrifies her.

"We'll be taking you home, Rose," Harry reassured her, putting his hand on her little shoulder. "No worries." He put his hand on her back and pushed the little girl ahead of him. The four children followed Harry through the wall and out into King's Cross. They all walked to the Potters' car.

As they drove to the Potters' house, Harry filled the kids in on what he had been doing while they were away: which summed up to nothing, and what Ginny had been doing: also a big fat nothing. The whole ride Scorpius stared out of the window, watching the world go by. Rose seemed mildly interested in the conversation and would participate every once in a while. Albus hung for dear life onto every single word his father said.

Suddenly they pulled into the Potters' driveway. The door burst open. Two small, redheaded children ran to the car as fast as they could. A small crowd of adults hung in the doorway, following slowly after. Rose opened her door and scooped up a small child. "HUGO!" she squealed, hugging the little boy.

James got out of his door and ran up to his mom in the doorway. Scorpius slowly opened his door. Once he stood up, Albus raced out of the car to greet his little sister, who was standing right beside the car, waiting for her older brother.

Scorpius stood there awkwardly watching the joyful reunion of everyone else. He smiled to himself, thinking this is what it must be like to have a happy family. He always _thought_ his parents were happy, but he never felt happy in his family. He never saw this kind of joy between his family members. Suddenly Scorpius felt a hand on his back. He spun around to see a redheaded woman looking down at him.

"You must be Scorpius," Ginny said, mustering a smile. The little bugger was so cute and he didn't seem like his father. His father held himself with a pompous air, but this boy seemed a little lost and sad, staring at the family reunion that was going on. "It's nice to meet you."

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley," Scorpius said, still looking relatively lost.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Scorpius lied.

"Here, let's get your things inside," Ginny took Scorp's light suitcase and led him into the house.

"Where are you going?" Albus called after them when he saw them going into the house.

"We're taking your friend's things up to your room," Ginny said. "You should probably come and show him around." She raised her eyes in a way that told Al he'd have negative consequences if he didn't show Scorp around.

Albus skittered up the stairs behind his best friend and his mother, for fear of the Dragon Lady that hid behind that red hair and freckles.


End file.
